DAX queries in reporting tools

In the latest releases of Report Builder and SQL Server Data Tools, you can create native DAX queries against supported SQL Server Analysis Services tabular data models by dragging and dropping desired fields in the query designers. See the Reporting Services blog.

REST API support

To enable development of modern applications and customization, SQL Server Reporting Services now supports a fully OpenAPI compliant RESTful API. The full API specification and documentation can now be found on swaggerhub.

Query designer support for DAX now in Report Builder and SQL Server Data Tools

In Report Builder and SQL Server Data Tools, you can now create native DAX queries against supported SQL Server Analysis Services tabular data models. You can use the query designer in both tools to drag and drop the fields you want and have the DAX query generated for you instead of writing it yourself.

Note: You can only use the query designer for DAX with SSAS tabular data sources built in SQL Server 2016+.

SSRS 2016

Reporting Services web portal

A new Reporting Services web portal is available. This is an updated, modern, portal which incorporates KPIs, Mobile Reports, Paginated Reports, Excel and Power BI Desktop files. The web portal replaces Report Manager from previous releases. You can also download Mobile Report Publisher and Report Builder from the web portal without the need of ClickOnce technology.

Custom branding for the web portal

Key performance indicators (KPI) in the web portal

You can create KPIs direct in the web portal that are contextual to the folder you are in. When creating KPIs, you can choose dataset fields and summarize those values. You can also select related content to drill-through to more details.

Mobile Reports

Reporting Services mobile reports are dedicated reports optimized for a wide variety of form factors and provide an optimal experience for users accessing reports on mobile devices. Mobile reports feature a assortment of visualizations, from time, category, and comparison charts, to treemaps and custom maps. Connect your mobile reports to a range of data sources, including on-premises SQL Server Analysis Services multidimensional and tabular data. Lay out your mobile reports on a design surface with adjusting grid rows and columns, and flexible mobile report elements that scale well to any screen size. Then save these mobile reports to a Reporting Service server, and view and interact with them in a browser or in the Power BI mobile app on iPads, iPhones, Android phones and Windows 10 devices.

Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Support

SQL Server 2016 Reporting Services (SSRS) supports the current versions of Microsoft .NET Framework 4. This includes version 4.0 and 4.5.1. If no version of .Net Framework 4.x is installed, SQL Server setup installs .NET 4.0 during the feature installation step.

Report improvements

HTML 5 Rendering Engine: A new HTML5 rendering engine that targets modern web "full" standards mode and modern browsers. The new rendering engine no longer relies on quirks mode used by a few older browsers.

Report embedding: You can now embed mobile and paginated reports in other web pages, and applications, by using an iframe along with URL parameters.

Pin Report Items to a Power BI Dashboard: While viewing a report in the web portal, you can select report items and pin them to a Power BI dashboard. The items you can pin are charts, gauge panels, maps, and images. You can (1) select the group that contains the dashboard you want to pin to, (2) select the dashboard you want to pin the item too and (3) select how frequently you want the tile updated in the dashboard. The refresh is managed by Reporting Services subscriptions and after the item is pinned, you can edit the subscription and configure a different refresh schedule.

PowerPoint Rendering and Export: The Microsoft PowerPoint (PPTX) format is a new SQL Server 2016 Reporting Services (SSRS) rendering extension. You can export reports in the PPTX format from the usual applications; Report Builder, Report Designer (in SSDT), and the web portal. For the example the following image shows the export menu from the web portal.

You can also select the PPTX format for subscription output and use Report Server URL access to render and export a report. For example the following URL command in your browser exports a report from a named instance of the report server.

PDF Replaces ActiveX for Remote Printing: The report viewer toolbar ActiveX print experience has been replaced with a modern PDF based experience that works across the matrix of supported browsers, including Microsoft Edge. No more ActiveX controls to download! Depending on the browser you use and the PDF viewing applications and services you have installed, Reporting Services will either open a print dialog to print your report or prompt you to download a .PDF file of your report. As an administrator, you can still disable client side printing from Management Studio. For more information, see Enable and Disable Client-Side Printing for Reporting Services.

Subscription Improvements

Feature

Supported server mode

Enable and disable subscriptions. New user interface options to quickly disable and enable subscriptions. The disabled subscriptions maintain their other configuration properties such as schedule and can be easily enabled.

Subscription description. When you create a new subscription, you can now include a description of the report as part of the subscription properties. The description is included on the subscription summary page.

SharePoint and Native mode

Change subscription owner. Enhanced user interface to quickly change the owner of a subscription. Previous versions of Reporting Services allow administrators to change subscription owners using script. Starting with the SQL Server 2016 (13.x) release, you can change subscription owners using the user interface or script. Changing the subscription owner is a common administrative task when users leave or change roles in your organization.

New in this release, your Reporting Services administrator can configure a single file share account, that is used for one to many subscriptions. The file share account is configured in the Reporting Services native mode configuration manager Specify a file share account, and then on the subscription configuration page, users select Use file share account.

Report Builder improvements

New Report Builder User Interface: The core Report Builder user interface is now a modern look and feel with streamlined UI elements.

New

Previous

Custom Parameters Pane: You can now customize the parameters pane. Using the design surface in Report Builder, you can drag a parameter to a specific column and row in the parameters pane. You can add and remove columns to change the layout of the pane. For more information, see Customize the Parameters Pane in a Report (Report Builder).

High DPI Support: Report Builder supports High DPI (Dots Per Inch) scaling and devices. For more information on High DPI, see the following: